I don't own Ronin Warriors. OCs are mine.
Chapter 13
"Thank you, Iris, for everything," said Tiffany.
"Don't mention it, my child." Iris brought Tiffany into a hug, holding her tight. "I'll see you on Saturday."
Tiffany nodded, holding the door open as Iris walked out of the house. She watched her get in the car and drive away before she closed the door. Tiffany walked toward the kitchen to get herself a bottle of water.
Cye had just finished preparing everything for dinner and combined everything together in a pot of water.
"Have you and Ryo made up?" he asked her.
"Sort of," she answered, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge. "It's going to be a while before we go back to the way we were." Tiffany opened the bottle, taking a sip of the water. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it back up, not sure if she should suggest anything.
"Is something on your mind?" Cye turned to look at her, concerned when he saw Tiffany's worried expression. "Are you still unsure about Ryo?"
"I shouldn't be. He gave me his word and his apology was sincere…but…"
"But you're worried he'll betray your trust," Cye finished for her.
"Is it wrong that I think that?" Tiffany stared at him.
Cye walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's ok to think that. You were hurt, and you don't know if you can trust someone after that." He gave her a smile and he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "It's going to be ok. Everything is going to get better."
Tiffany smiled back at him and surprised him with a hug to which he returned.
"I agree."
Tiffany looked over Cye's shoulder and Cye turned around to find Sage, Rowen, and Kento standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "It will get better," confirmed Sage, offering her a smile. She returned it and gave each of them a hug, letting them know she believed things will get better. With that in mind, Tiffany knew what she must do.
Ryo sat in the gazebo, staring off into space. White Blaze was laying on the floor next to him, his head resting on his paws. He was alert despite his relaxed state in case someone tried to come in. The tiger's ears perked up at the sound of footsteps and he raised his head only to lower it back down at the sight of Tiffany. The young woman stood at the entrance of the gazebo, staring at Ryo.
"What are you doing?"
"Thinking," he answered, not turning to look at her. Tiffany nodded and moved over to sit down next to him. The two sat in silence, staring off into space, not acknowledging each other.
"What…" Ryo started but trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence.
"No, go on," encourage Tiffany, turning to look at him. "What were you doing to say?"
Ryo sighed and then lowered his head and shut his eyes. "What did I do to you to want to end it?" He turned to her and Tiffany was surprised by the pain she saw in them. His face was stoic but it was his eyes that cued her in. Pain swirled in the depths of his blue eyes and it made Tiffany realize that while she was mostly affected by what happened, Ryo was forced to do what he did and it pained him to know he was the one to hurt her.
"You…you…" Tiffany looked away for she didn't want to see how Ryo would react. "You let her kiss you and you flirted with her right in front of me. You didn't even know I was there, focusing all your attention on her. She went on and on about how you were taking her to some fancy restaurant and you agreed that she looked great in anything."
Ryo inhaled sharply and then quickly got up from the bench. He walked out of the gazebo and started pacing in the backyard before heading over to a tree. He punched the bark of it, wanting to release a scream of anger for everything that he had done. Arms suddenly wrapped around his midsection. Ryo kept a hand on the tree while his other hand grabbed hold of Tiffany's hand. Tiffany laid her head on Ryo's back and stood behind him in silence. It was an understanding between the two that they both had suffered and they both needed the comfort.
"I hate this teacher!" exclaimed Kento, slamming his tray down on the table his friends were sitting. Cye jumped at the sudden intrusion while Sage and Rowen only stared at his friend's outburst.
"Why? What happened?" asked Rowen.
"In one of my business classes, the professor gave me a 'C' because the assignment seemed too 'unrealistic.'" Kento plopped down in his seat, releasing an irritated noise as he did.
"What was the assignment about?" Cye asked.
"We had to write a summary of what we did at a job we work at or, if we don't have a job, to search for a job and write about it. I wrote about my experiences at my ma's but the teacher said it didn't seem real. He said there was no way I'd be working at a restaurant and that, if I want to be realistic, I should have thought of a more practical job."
"He didn't think you're really working at a restaurant?"
"Nope." Kento stabbed his food with his fork.
Cye patted his friend on the back while Kento mulled over what happened.
"Where's Ryo?" asked Sage, changing the subject. He scanned the cafeteria for him but didn't see him.
"He should be coming," answered Cye as he also looked around. "He told me he was unless he changed plans last minute. Oh, there he is!" He gestured to the corner of the room as Ryo walked around the corner, holding a tray with one hand while his bookbag was slung over his shoulder.
Ryo was looking for his friends when he spotted them and started heading over. He didn't get far for Mika called out to him. He turned to her as she approached him. "I waited for you last night but you never came," Mika said, a small smile on her lips. "Did something happen?"
Ryo's eyes narrowed at her. "I know what your master wants and if you're going to try to do the same thing, it's not going to work."
"What are you talking about?" Maria asked, faking innocence. "I-"
"Stop." Ryo leaned towards her. "Whatever you're trying to pull, just stop it. I'm not letting you trick me again." He started walking away from her but Mika grabbed his arm.
"You don't understand. She is only using you until she gets what she wants."
"Is that what you were going to do? Use me until your master gets what he wants?"
Mika shook her head. "No, he wants to help. The temptress is only using you until she brings back Talpa." Ryo stared at her, an eyebrow raised but Mika continued unaware of his questioning expression. "Ryo, please. I'm only trying to help, that's why they brought me back." Mika smiled at him. "It's me…Maria."
Ryo's eyes widen at her statement but it quickly went away, replaced by hurt and anger. "Is this some sick joke?"
Mika's smile faded. "No, I-"
"I heard enough." Ryo wrenched his arm from Mika's grasp and walked away. Mika watched him go and over to his friends. Hurt was displayed on her face but it quickly faded, her body filling with hate. This hate wasn't directed towards Ryo, but at the Temptress. She was the one who did this to him, make him forget all about her. Made him forget the connection they had. She knew what she had to do now.
"You ok?" Rowen asked Ryo as he sat down.
"I'm fine," Ryo waved him off. "A little irritated, but I'll be fine."
"What did Mika say to you?" wondered Kento.
"She told me Tiffany was using me to resurrect Talpa and that she was only trying to help me see that."
The guys froze at that. "She knew about Talpa?"
"How would she know about him?"
"And why would she call Tiffany a temptress?"
Ryo thought about all of the questions and what Mika had told him. Is it true? Did someone really bring Maria back to life? He looked up at the others and they shared a knowing look. Something wasn't right.
White Blaze and Kalana were walking through the forest, patrolling the area around the house. White Blaze suddenly stopped, his nose twitching for a familiar scent was in the air. "What's wrong," Kalana wondered, turning back to him.
"Do you smell that?"
Kalana raised her head, sniffing the air. A familiar scent wafted in and she glanced back at White Blaze, looking at him for confirmation that she wasn't imagining it. The tiger nodded and the two walked to the edge of the forest. A young boy skated down the road and Kalana perked up at him, tail wagging in excitement. She darted out to the road with White Blaze close behind.
The boy glided across the road as he pushed his foot on the ground to gain more speed. An animal darted out in front of him and he expertly maneuvered out of the way. However, he couldn't get out of the way of the other animal in his path. He stumbled off the skateboard, the ground rapidly coming towards him, but he stopped inches from the ground. Looking behind him, he saw Kalana holding the back of his shirt with her teeth. She lowered him to the ground and the boy smiled widely at her. "Key, Kalana!" He rubbed the wolf's head in greeting. He felt a nudge from behind and turned around. "White Blaze!" The tiger chuffed at him. The boy walked over and grabbed his skateboard. "The guys are around here, right?" At their nod, he got on his skateboard. "Let's go!" He took off and the two animals followed him on either side.
Tiffany sat on the patio reading a book, taking sips of her tea. She heard something running towards her spot and looked up from her book as Kalana and White Blaze ran in with the boy holding the skateboard. "Hi, Tiffany!"
"Yulie!" Tiffany got up and walked over to him, pulling him into a hug. "How are you doing?" She pulled away. "You've gotten taller."
Yulie smiled. "Yeah, I got an inch taller. Maybe two inches. Are the guys around?"
"They're in class." Tiffany eyed him suspiciously. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"A water pipe broke and flooded the school. They called this morning that school was cancelled until everything was fixed and cleaned up. They said in the call that it looked like it was done on purpose."
"On purpose? What-" Tiffany stopped mid-sentence when Kalana and White Blaze started growling. "Yulie, get behind me." He moved around par her instructions.
From the forest emerged Karver and Malice. "Hello, Priestess," Karver greeted sweetly.
"Not an accident, huh?" Tiffany asked, referring to the incident at Yulie's school. They must have done something to cause the water pipe to burst to get him to come here, distract her from the fight.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Karver smirked at her which irritated Tiffany. But, as she kept on glaring at him, a realization came to her at who he was. "It's you."
Karver's smile widen. "I wasn't acting back then. I do have a …attraction towards you. Maybe we can have alone time."
Kalana released angry barks at Karver's implication.
"That's enough, Karver," ordered Malice, glancing at him. "Remember our mission." He diverted his eyes to the small group in front of him. "We can do this either of two ways, Priestess. You can come with us quietly or…" He held up his sickle, the weapon gleaming menacingly at them. "We do it our way."
Tiffany stood in front of Yulie to block him from the sight of the generals. "What you did was a dirty trick. I'm not going with you."
"Wrong choice." Malice swung the sickle, heading straight for Tiffany but it stopped in mid-air. Tiffany stared at the weapon inches from her face as the wind blew around her, making the weapon fly back at the generals which caught them off guard. A small smirk was on her face and Tiffany stomped the ground with her foot, splitting it open as sharp rocks came out of the ground and headed for the generals. They jumped to avoid the rocks but while they were in the air, water surrounded them and suddenly froze up, encasing them in a thick sheet of ice, leaving only their heads exposed. The two fell to the ground, making a crater from the impact. Tiffany slowly walked towards them, Kalana and White Blaze close to her side as she approached the struggling generals. They stopped their struggles when Tiffany stood in front of them.
"Finish us off, then," Malice spat at her.
"No." Tiffany reached a hand out to him, placing it on top of his head. "I know you have the Warlords trapped." Before she could begin the ritual to free their spirits, her body started moving against her will. Kalana and White Blaze were whining beside her as they were forced to lay on the ground.
Mika walked into the area, eyes trained on Tiffany. Hatred flowed through her body, and she wanted nothing more than to end Tiffany's life for what she did. "How dare you," Mika muttered but slowly raised her voice. "How dare you trick them! Making them adore and care for you when you're only using them for your own selfish reasons."
"What…what do you mean?"
Mika took a deep breath, keeping herself from screaming at Tiffany, and then cocked her head to the side, making Tiffany's body twist around to the point where it would snap in half. Tiffany released an anguish scream of pain and she thought she heard something snap.
"Mika, we still need her," Karver said. When Mika didn't respond, he yelled again. "Mika!" She cocked her head to the other side which stilled Tiffany and the animals. They all collapsed to the ground, not moving.
"What-"
"They're only unconscious," Mika answered, her gaze settling on two pieces of rocks. She focused on them and they levitated into the air. She moved her head to the generals and they pierced the ice which shattered, freeing them from their icy prison. Karver walked over to Tiffany and hauled her over his shoulder.
Yulie stood from his spot on the patio, shaking with fear on what he had just witnessed. He then froze when the woman turned her attention to him. She calmly walked over to him and then lowered herself to look him in the eye. Smiling, Mika said, "Don't worry, Yulie. The temptress won't be a probably for you or the guys anymore. Soon, you'll be free from her hold." She turned around and walked away from him. Yulie was left speechless as the trio disappeared from view with an unconscious Tiffany.